The interim manager was appointed plant manager and interim COO at a German medical technology manufacturer. The company was experiencing a strong surge in demand due to product innovations. In addition, the former family-owned company was undergoing a transformation following its takeover by a hedge fund, which was accompanied by an expansion of its international customer base, among other things. The interim manager's main task was to optimize the organization and processes to cope with this growth.
Boom after product innovation pushes the production plant to its limits
The OEM manufacturer produces innovative device technology for minimally invasive surgery (keyhole surgery). Surgeons all over the world use the company's products. Thanks to decisive improvements, sales doubled immediately after the start of production, particularly in the USA. The boom continued.
In the course of the growth, the German production plant had exceeded its capacity limits. Despite high employee motivation, the backlog of orders could not be managed. In order to make production more efficient, the interim COO implemented a concept that could be implemented in stages.
Material supply in the Group reorganized and logistics optimized
One of the central elements of the optimization concept was the material supply of the assembly factory in northern Bavaria. Following integration into the hedge fund's group of companies, the interim COO organized the start of production of many CNC parts at hedge fund companies in China and the UK. At the same time, he optimized the logistics.
Further growth spurt initiated through innovation in disposable items
In the medical technology sector, too, no-name manufacturers sometimes copy OEM products and offer them at significantly lower prices. This often leads to safety problems. In order to improve the safety of the OEM's endoscopy tube systems, the client initiated a product innovation. RFID chips now prevent "foreign" tube sets from being connected to the OEM manufacturer's devices. However, this increased the boom in demand in northern Bavaria. There was an urgent need to increase the output of hose systems.
Production areas segmented and middle management restructured
At management level, the interim manager quickly identified a lack of cooperation between production planning and key accounts, which had a corresponding impact on forward planning. The interim manager remedied this deficiency by first segmenting the production areas and reorganizing middle management accordingly. He also simplified complex reporting lines. These steps made a significant contribution to quickly creating a common planning basis.
Line manager specifically developed as a segment manager
The interim manager also specifically developed a skilled line manager as a segment manager. He supported him with training measures and personal coaching. This also included making the manager known to the hedge fund board and having him named "Internal Manager of the Year" in an internal competition. The manager promoted by the interim manager is now responsible for large parts of production at the plant in northern Bavaria.
This appointment had a huge impact on employees in management and production. It made a significant contribution to further strengthening the already positive mood: At the end of the year, output reached an all-time high.
Strong expansion of personnel capacities in a tight market
In order to further increase production, it was urgently necessary to expand personnel capacities. The interim manager increased production by more than 100 employees and converted production to a three-shift operation. The preparatory work included extensive construction measures. For example, the personnel airlocks for the clean rooms had to be tripled in size.
The company's own academy qualifies new employees from Poland
Recruiting staff proved to be one of the biggest challenges. The personnel market in northern Bavaria was practically empty. Together with Human Resources and external service providers, the interim manager found suitable candidates in Poland. The interim COO set up an in-house academy to train these employees. Bilingual coaches trained the new employees at newly set up training workstations. After this 14-day dry run, the "newcomers" were assigned to experienced employees and integrated into the three-shift operation.
Challenges for supply chain and occupational health and safety overcome by coronavirus
Another challenge in this mandate arose from the coronavirus pandemic. In view of the foreseeable Brexit turbulence, the interim COO had already ordered larger buffer stocks of important components. This proved to be a stroke of luck when the coronavirus pandemic broke out: thanks to these stocks, the Bavarian assembly factory's supply chains were significantly less affected than they would have been without them.
The work organization was changed to prevent infection. In addition to existing hygiene rules in medical technology, the work teams now remained together virtually permanently. Flexible staff exchanges were reduced to a minimum. Staggered break times further limited contact.
This meant major restrictions for Polish employees in particular. Weekend trips home without subsequent quarantine were no longer possible. Despite the homesickness and difficult conditions, the employees grew together and the team spirit continued to strengthen.
Successful optimization increases production by 150% in six months
After ten months, the interim mandate ended with the handover of plant management to the successor. The outcome of the mandate: the restructured production has enabled the company to respond much better to the continued growth in demand. The hose set output increased by more than 75% within six months. In all three quarters of the mandate, the company exceeded the best-case scenarios for the sales target by more than 3.5%.
